Nick Entwistle

The most disciplined media operation in the entire world is GB&NI rowing. The national lottery is referenced in pretty much every interview I've ever seen for decades. An incredible press officer somewhere back there #BBCOlympics

It's one of the quirks of the PRB system that you can get these very weird policies that aren't really justified in the report itself, are bafflingly un-costed, don't align with workforce policy priorities, and none of the big players really think is a sensible idea.

If you opened serious negotiations about senior-ish AfC grades you'd hear about the huge jump in responsibility in 8a, and the relatively poor corresponding increase in reward. You'd also hear, I suspect, common ground in reducing the length of service.

If you're puzzled by the second recommendation, well you're not alone. Lots of really pressing structural issues and Bands 8+9 being two pay points is not one of them. Even the full report doesn't really explain it, the position just appears in the recommendations.

Today the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) published its 2024 report on pay for Agenda for Change (AfC) staff working in the NHS across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. You can find the NHSPRB Report here: gov.uk/government/pub…

@leumasredlo Subscribers only mate! Will send out tomorrow.

@NickEntwistle Hourly rates??

While still not - formally - announced yet it's widely reported that the NHS pay review body recommendation is a 5.5% increase to all NHS pay points, and the Chancellor has said the government will implement that. But I've already seen this described as an "offer."

And here's our comment: unison.org.uk/news/press-rel…

Anyway, here's the NHS pay structure with 5.5% applied. With all the pay compression issues and lack of promotion incentives still present.

You can pretty much hear Saint Denis from south London. What a roar.

Well that's enough Olympics for me thank you very much #IREvFIJ

What a test. WHAT A TEST. #RSAvsIRE

I'm pleased this is such a heavyweight, thoughtful, appointment. The results in North Antrim should be an alarm bell. Our offer to the workers of Northern Ireland should be more than buying the occasional bus and graciously permitting the transport of sausages.

This is incredible stuff. It looks great the first time. On the second watch you'll convince yourself it shouldn't have been given. Then you watch it again and each time you'll spot something new and astonishing. Wild skills and impressive cool heads under pressure. #BLUvCHI

How did that stay in! The Ioane brothers combine to tee up Caleb Clarke 🤝 ↳ Super Rugby Pacific Grand-Final. Blues v Chiefs, live now. Ad-free. Live & On Demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. #StanSportAU #SuperRugbyPacific #BLUvCHI

This report is also excellent because, in a real treat for the wonks, the conclusion cites findings from the ERIC survey, one of the most valuable and most underused lagoons of data the NHS owns.

There's a lovely example in this which explores creating more specialised (hopefully correctly banded...) roles. Before the ICS has a meltdown about paydrift, the trust delivers a 43% drop in visit needs and a drop in time-to-discharge of 42 hours. That's huge.

This is really rather good. Repeated refrains for building trust when seeking improvements are absolutely to be welcomed. Call it psychological safety, call it commitment to true partnership, call it engagement, whatever, we're only going to improve services with staff buy in.